Manifest Destiny (episode 4, Maurice the Chosen)
by Kumarisan
Summary: The end of an era, a new beginning, Sonic is born, the innocent are exiled


"At first, I thought he was simply another lamb…err hedgehog to the slaughter, until the blood tests came back

The following 'epic' is based on characters created by Sega, and also DIC "Sonic the Hedgehog" (SAT AM) Gearbox and "O" are the copyrighted property of Dan Drazen.All rights reserved. 

Any characters not based on the previously mentioned sources are sole property of...hmm that would be me!!

Manifest Destiny

Mobius, 03-15-3187

"At first, I thought he was simply another lamb…err _hedgehog_ to the slaughter, until the blood tests came back. Who could blame me? We had no way of tracking who he was, as they shipped him to my port in an overcrowded medivac transporter. To lower the weight of the cargo, the soldiers were stripped of everything but their pants, if they had any. But to be able to treat Maurice Hedgehog, the former sheriff of Mobius, what an honor! After he was finished with that board meeting eight months ago, our facilities were upgraded almost instantaneously.It was as if in one day, the Aquatic Ruins joined the rest of the world in the 32 century."

"Curse that war, all our boys died in vain. Whenever there's a hostile takeover attempt, it happens eventually. King Max is talkin' about our 'great victory', but I know he know we're screwed. Now that the majority of the fighting aged boys are wiped out, the enemy'll take us out in their own sweet time. Maybe they'll wait a few year to recouperate, but we can never really beat 'em."

Something was not right. Doctor Prower had spent all day reading the blood tests from his unconscious patient. Maybe the EKG tests would give him more insight. "Doctor?" The physician looked up from his paperwork."Yes? What is it?" The doctor hated being disturbed while he was frustrated. "The rest of the lab results are back. I think you should look at them."

"This is worse than I thought… the patient has been exposed to a seriously heavy amount of gamma radiation, I propose that the culprit could be the three days he spent as a POW in the YS laboratory. My options at this point are limited as this much exposure produces defects that are impossible to reverse.My decision is to attempt a CO2 fusion to counteract the gamma, and inject the patient with a liter of calcium chloric hydroxide. The severity of the amount will likely do no physical damage to him, but it will probably alter his genetic structure. His children will inherit this defect, though at this time I cannot determine what the abnormality will be." Dr. Prower yawned and hit the 'stop button.' He'd need to star the procedure immediately so he could get some sleep.

"You okay?" "My neck's sore and I can't feel my legs." "It's your body adjusting to the solium juice. You'll be used to it in no time." "Solium juice?" "Calcium chloric hydroxide. Good for fueling power mowers and resuscitating soldiers. " "…why can't I see anything?" "It's night and all the lights are off, silly! At this stage of your treatment, your body is extremely sensitive to artificial light." "Oh. How long 'till I get normal then?" "…you'll never really be 'back to normal', but you'll definitely be up and running around again in no time. You should regain control of your legs in a week." "How long have I been out of it? I feel so much older…" "You've been gone from reality for about a month now. 36 days. The doctor said you'd wake up today, and I wanted to see you before he did. Doc Prower isn't exactly delicate when it comes to a patient's feelings." "So you've been sitting around here all day?" "Pretty much. Most of the other patients just need rest and medication right now, and we've been, excuse the pun, dead since the war ended." "Did we win?" "You could say that." "…Salina, right? What were the odds that I'd ever see…err _hear_ you again?" "Pretty good considering I'm the only nurse for miles around and this is the only military hospital in Mobius that's fully functional. Hey listen, I've gotta check out my other patients and take a nap. It's been about 32 hours since I last closed my eyes." "You could, ah… sleep in my room tonight. I mean, I don't mind the company…" "Heh, heh, you're a bold little crippled hedgehog, aren't you? Oh I almost forgot. Someone from your platoon stopped by last week. He wanted you to have this package." "Did you open it?" "No, silly! It wasn't for me! Bye." 

Feeling the package in his hand, Maurice opened it in the dark. It was some sort of recording device, a crude old tape player, perhaps. "Didn't know they still made these things." Maurice thought to himself as he fumbled around the recorder trying to find the play button. Suddenly, a familiar voice filled the room. "Hey Maurice, I'm glad you're still alive. I feel a bit awkward having to record this and not being there in person, but I can't wait for you to get up. Duty calls. The war's over, but there's still a threat. You know your brother's partner? He was the ringleader for Yuo Sape I'll bet. Watch yourself around him. By the way, remember Maria? Well, she set you up that night and had Smite shoot you. Why? She loved the mafia more than you, and they made her choose. She hated you for that. Basically, stay away from her or you'll die quickly. Why am I telling you this? Ridge died on the filed in my arms, and now you're probably the closest thing I'll ever have to a friend. I don't want you dying in times of peace, from my own flesh and blood. It wouldn't be right. Maybe I'll see you around sometimes. Oh wait… I see everything. Take care and move on."Maurice turned the recorder off, his suspicions realized. Lying back down on the bed, he closed his eyes as a single tear formed in his right eye. Flicking it away, Maurice went to sleep.

"Good morning!" Maurice opened his eyes to see his favorite nurse at the foot of his bed. "Is it good?" he inquired, trying to sit up in his bed. "Whoa, ease up there, sheriff!" Maurice smiled. "Wow, she's even prettier than I remember!" he thought to himself. "So you get the message?" she nodded to the recorder, still clenched in his hand. "Yeah." "How's my high maintenance patient today?" Maurice looked up to see a short red fox in a tropical shirt standing in the doorway. "This is Doctor Prower." Salina explained. "He saved your life." "Thank you doc. I-" Maurice began "Cut it, soldier boy, as soon as I release you, you'll go right back into harm's way, won't you? I'll never understand your generation." Dr. Prower spat. Salina rolled her eyes. "What Doctor Prower lacks in social graces, he makes up for in medical expertise." "Prep him for the injection and then make your rounds, Salina. This guy's like David, so watch out for him, okay?" With that, Dr. Prower left as fast as he came. Maurice looked back at Salina. "David?" "The doctor's little brother. He the youngest mechanic in the history of the Mobian Air Corps, but now he's training to be a pilot much against Michael's wishes." "Dr. Michael Prower?" "Yep. Gimme your arm. I've gotta prep you for the injection."

05-05-3189

Charles looked out the window of his brother's new home. "So today's the big day, huh?" "Yeah, I guess so!" Maurice replied. "You nervous?" "Kinda, I mean we've only known each other for about two years now… how can two years determine if you'll be compatible for the rest of your lives?" Charles looked at his brother. "Well, you don't have much of a choice now, Maurice… she IS pregnant, ya know." Maurice's eyes widened. "How'd you know?!" "I guessed. Anyway, it's getting late and you don't wanna be late for your own wedding do you?" Charles answered quickly, not wanting to add any more to the discussion.

11-14-3189

"Maurice, dear, you've been doing this since we started living together…where are you going?! It's 2 am!" "Nervous energy, babe, I gotta run it off! I don't KNOW where I'm going!" "Ugh. Goodnight then."

"Is this sand taken?" "Not at the moment. Long time no see." Maurice didn't bother to look at the assassin. "Yes, it's a wonder you're still alive today." Maria replied, frowning. "So I've heard. Have you come to finish the job?" Maurice glanced at Maria who turned away. "The 'job' is already finished." She replied. "How so?" "Our son never had to meet you, so he'll never be able to put a face with his questions. The job is done." Maurice looked Maria in the eyes, unsure of what he had just heard. "…our _son_?! "I have a _child_???" "And a wife **and** another on the way, if I'm not mistaken. Besides, Raja's lived three years not wondering where or who you are. If he asks, I'll tell him about his father. But he won't, so don't worry about it." Maurice's jaw dropped in disbelief. "How?! How could you keep this from me?" "Keep it from you? I thought you were dead all this time! But when I was running a scramble op in Mobotropolis last week, I entered your name in the database, just for kicks. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up your file!" "But, why did you try to have me killed?" "What are you talking about?! If I wanted you dead, then that's what you'd be. It's bad enough that Raja will have to grow up without a father, but I'm not going to make him a bastard myself." Maria excused herself for the beach, leaving Maurice to sit and ponder his next move.

As he cautiously made his way to the Neo Green Hill zone, Maurice's judgment was clouded more and more by the questions that kept arising in his head. Was Chino lying to protect him or his nephew? What did Raja even look like? He couldn't be a hedgehog, or the database would have detected it, and the child taken into the custody of the Royal Army. Reaching the outskirts of the Mobian Mafia's stronghold, Maurice used a secret entrance he'd used once before just to sneak a last peak at Maria so many years ago. Maurice crept to Maria's hut undetected, as only a trained recon specialist could do. When he reached Maria's hut, he peaked into the room. The moonlight gave a bluish glow to the hut, and Maurice's eyes fixed on the young kitten sleeping in a basket right under the window. Pushing at the window, Maurice found it to be opened. Noiselessly slipping through the window, Maurice examined the kitten. Instinct told him that this was his son. Reaching into his pocket, Maurice revealed his purple heart from the war. He slipped it into one of the kitten's outstretched paws, and silently exited the hut. He then left for his home.

As Smite patrolled his area, he passed Maria's hut. Looking into the hut, he could not find Maria. Something wasn't right. It wasn't like her to go running off when she didn't have duty. Not since… Smite sniffed the air. Hedgehog! The tiger gritted his teeth. "Not on my watch." He thought to himself, following the scent to the end of the NG zone. Smite pulled out his communicator and called up the next shift. "Come on early. I'm pursuing a prowler. Out." Smite barked into the mic. The malicious tiger carefully tracked Maurice's scent to the outskirts of Mobotropolis in a small house. Checking the premises for security, he found a laser alarm on the front door step. "Not too original." He thought to himself, going around to the back. "Let's see, they're both home now, probably asleep, saying as how it's 0430 hours." Looking through the half closed blinds in the rear window, Smite saw Maurice and his wife asleep in bed. "Good thing I came here without a conscience." Smite pulled out a Z-30 grenade he'd stolen from Chino, and attached it to the window.Hooking a 30 foot wire to the trigger, Smite ran a safe distance from the house. A sadistic grin spread across his face as he yanked the cord, sending the house up in flames. "No trespassing, EVER." He laughed as he returned to his own zone.

  
After three painstaking hours of silent work, Dr. Prower turned to the coroner. "There's nothing I can do for him, so clean the body up." The coroner looked at the doctor who turned away. "What about the female?" he nodded to Salina. "She's also dead, but I can probably save the baby. Get me a wet blanket and alert Maurice's brother, okay?" The coroner left the room, as Dr. Prower's eyes welled up with tears of anger.

"Dr. Prower, how is the baby doing?" The doctor looked at Sir Charles, who had just come from the morgue after identifying his family members. Charles had a way of hiding his emotions in all circumstances even in his times of desperation. "Excellent, actually, but this means my theory was correct, as the child is quite abnormal." Charles looked at his nephew, inquisitively."How so? He looks healthy enough to me." "That's just it… He was delivered from a charred corpse, but has no blemishes on him at all.His lung capacity is at 125% of a normal animal _my_ age. His bones in his legs are double jointed, and his heart is pumping an unusual amount of blood to his legs." Charles shrugged "What does this mean?" "He's built like a cheetah on the inside. He'll be super fast once he learns to walk." "Like father like son…"

03-12-3194

"Hey Uncle Chuck! Watch this!"Charles Hedgehog look out of his window to see his nephew waving at him. When he saw that his uncle was paying attention to him, Sonic jumped into the air and dislocated his legs, spinning them in a clockwise motion as fast as he could. When he hit the ground, he immediately bean to streak forward at top speed until he ran right into a tree.Charles ran out to see if Sonic was okay, but as soon as he exited the house he could hear Sonic giggling uncontrollably. "You've got a head like your dad, sonnie!" Sonic' eyes lit up. "Really??? Can you tell me some more about him today?" Charles never pretended to be Sonic's father, but mad it clear to him that he was his uncle, as his parents had passed away in a fire a long time ago. It was easier to tell the truth so Sonic could understand death at a young age, than for Charles to find a lie to give him and keep for who knew how many years. "Only if you finish your chilidogs today!"the elder hedgehog replied. "Uncle Chuck you're the coolest!"

0645 am. An irate kodkod stormed into his pupil's hut. Tearing the tattered sheet off the sleeping kitten, the kodkod greeted Raja. "You slept in again!" Raja stretched a bit before opening his eyes. The elder feline began to pace impatiently "Oh, you're strong alright…too strong. That makes you lazy! I don't know why I promised Maria I'd train you! Get up!" Raja looked adoringly at his sensei. "What can you teach me today, si fu?" 

"He's only eight years old and already he's mastered some katas that took me eight years to learn. His power is immense, but this is not the proper place to be training him. He has no room to grow." Maria didn't look up form her book. "Aarchek, we rarely allow outsiders in the Neo Green Hill zone…" "I'm not an outsider, I'm your older brother! He'll be in good hands." Maria looked at Aarchek for a moment, thoughtfully.Raja would only learn to be a heartless killer if he grew up in the Neo Green Hill zone. Perhaps if he left, he'd be brave, maybe even independent…like his uncle. "…how long?" she inquired. "Six years should be plenty of time."

Under the orders of his sensei, Raja sat upside down from a branch on a redwood in lotus position and meditated. He was to meditate for four hours every day. As hard as he concentrated, Raja always kept his mind's eye on his environment, as sometimes his sensei would attack him as a test while he was in his trance. Suddenly, the young feline sensed a familiar presence and jumped out of the tree. "Uncle Chio!" Chino revealed himself to his nephew. He smiled to himself, hearing Raja try to pronounce his name. "Hey kid, there's something we need to talk about." Raja sat on a tree stump. "What's up?" "I want you to have this envelope. Keep it with you always, but don't open it. Not until you're done with your training." Chino pressed the envelope in his nephew's paws. "You got it uncle! Hey, guess what? I'm going to the Mystic Cave for the first half of my training! Si fu is going to let me stay up all night! Kaas and his dad went there last month and he had fun!" Chino looked away for a moment. "Raja, I…" He fell silent, not wanting to upset Raja when he wasn't ready for the news. "Yes, uncle?" "Don't forget to be good." Raja smiled. "Sometimes you're really weird, uncle!"

08-14-3196

As Sir Charles Hedgehog worked feverishly in his private laboratory in the attic of Mobotropolis' Capital building, his work was interrupted by a knock at the door. The only other one that knew the location of this lab was a cafeteria worker, who'd occasionally sneak him snacks. Curiously, Charles let the cook in. "It's happening as we speak." The shrew was out of breath and had a bit of blood on his lip. "What's going on???" Charles asked, alarmed."The event we feared. The armory was hit ten minutes ago followed immediately by the barracks. They're all around the countryside now. We have to act fast sir." Charles dropped his test tube."Where's the king?" he demanded."In the custody of your former partner. All the children we could find are in the tunnel under the nursery. We'll ship them to the location when we can." "How many kids?" "Five, including your son, plus a cook and a nanny." The cook responded sitting down to catch his breath. "The tunnel only goes out of the city. They can't make it to the location unguarded. "I'll take them, sir." Charles raised his hand in protest. "You're a chef. I'd rather you not…we'll get to them after we destroy the Youth Chamber and all my research.We'll have no future if they get that.""Yes sir. But who will be their escort?""Me." The two spun around to find a cat standing in the doorway."You?! And who are you?" Charles demanded, wondering how the intruder had found his way to the lab."The other boy's uncle." Charles immediately understood and looked hard at the stranger. "Those eyes…Pacciano, right? You saved Maurice…you'll save his son now?" "If I could atone for all the blood I've shed, I could sleep better at night. If I could give five kids a chance to wake up from this nightmare, that'll also add a few minutes to my sleep." Charles thought for a second. "Alright. They're in the lower east wing crawl space. Your destination is a secured village called 'Knothole'.To get there, you will have to-" "I believe Rosie knows the way. Bye." Chino disappeared to carry out his mission. "Do they have a chance at all, sir?" "The odds have just stacked in their favor. Chino is an exceptional escort, from what I know."

That night

"Hey, uh…Mr. Chino?" Chino watched as Sonic tried to maneuver up the tree he was sitting in. "What're you doing up, boy?" he asked, helping him up to his branch. "I was just wondering somethin'. How long has Uncle Chuck known you?" "That's not what you were thinking about.You're confused, depressed, scared, excited, angry, and you wanted to see someone who isn't all those things." Sonic nodded, waiting for Chino to continue. "Truth is, I wish I could be more like you… having emotions and stuff. But when you've seen what I've seen and done what I've done… Nothing fazes you. Numbness is an odd feeling. Something you don't ever want to experience." "Oh." Sonic shrugged and looked out into the night sky. "What happens tonight? What if the badniks come for us while we're all asleep?" Chino smirked and stroked his rifle. "Not an option. That's why I'm up here… I can see everything." "So you'll stay up all night?" "All night, kid. Now don't let any of your friends know I'm here…It's our little secret, okay?" "You bet!"

09-16-3197

"Sir, it's been over a year and you haven't left these treetops. You've been surviving off berries and dew all this time, and you're always on the alert. Won't you rest yourself on the nice ground for once?" "Miss Rosie, look at the tree right over there, the one with the scratches. How many marks are there on that tree?" "Thirty two. What does it mean?" "Thirty two confirmed headshots from distances well over 500 meters. I made the bullets from acorns, pinecones and anything else I could find up here. Robo hounds, poachers, SWAT bots, Yuo Sape scouts and bounty hunters have tasted my wrath. Every month there are fewer and fewer travelers.But until I am certain that you'll never be spotted, I'll remain at my post. Afterwards, when I'm certain you're safe, I'll be leaving you all." "No!!! You can't just go!" Chino and Rosie turned their attention to the blue hedgehog climbing to their branch. "Heh, heh, you're turning into quite a spy, kid.""Don't go Mr. Chino!" Sonic pleaded. "It would do the children good to have a positive male role model at camp." Rosie added, sharing Sonic's sentiments. "I'm sure it would, but I'm not positive, and I'm no model citizen." Chino responded, looking away fro the two. "Sonic?" he addressed the hedgehog by his name for the first time. "Yeah?" "Do me a favor and give the others something to look up to until your brother gets back." Sonic began to nod until he realized what was said. "My what?!" Sonic demanded, but Chino was gone.


End file.
